Apple REIT Eight renegotiates loans

Apple REIT Eight Inc., a Richmond-based real estate investment trust owning 51 hotels, has renegotiated five loans on which it deliberately defaulted earlier this year to gain better terms. The company said in its second-quarter report that it strategically defaulted on the loans, which then were placed with a special server. Four loans were renegotiated and reinstated, while the fifth was renegotiated and paid off at a discount. The net savings from the new deal was $1 million. Commercial Real Estate Direct.com reported that the loans represented a total debt of $36.7 million for hotels in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Tampa, Fla.; Greenville, S.C.; and Suffolk.